1 + 1 Solstice moments. x I was squinting and hoping for the best when taking this shot with my little Lumix pocket camera (which has now proven itself at both May Day and the Solstice Parade as the perfect marching companion). Pretty pleased with the result. x A few more moments from the very start and very end of the Solstice Parade. x
Seattle! @colleengreen420 is cool and will be performing COOL at the @clockoutlounge on July 22, so be there and don’t be square—be cool instead! x This cutie patootie’s got a piece up at @abbeyarts called RED that you should go check out and maybe purchase. I am very proud and ever grateful for her endless care and support, so give her a follow and show her some love immediately: @christine.bingham.art x This was the first time I’d ever been to the Fremont Solstice Parade, and, of course, I found myself in the thick of it on my first try. x … Continue reading “First Time at the Fremont Solstice Parade” →
Let’s eat. Yuh, yuh. x The timeless scene. x Bon appétit. Yuh, yuh. x
Folklife was mostly grey and dreary the times I was there, so that colored the kinds of photos I took. x These are the fist puppets we left behind after the Samovar Collective led us on a “non-parade” from the Cornish Courtyard to the Center Theatre. I liked how they stood up on their own weight, just like they would at the end of a genuine protest. I’ve been enjoying feeling the different parts of my life and personality cohere into more of a whole through projects like these. It makes me think of something Gramsci wrote about no longer … Continue reading “Fist Puppets and the Lone Individual in the Crowd” →
In celebration of a successful collaboration, members of @brivelemusic, @shpilkisseattle, and the wider Samovar Art Collective put solidarity and ubuntu into practice by joining with Seattle @demsocialists in activating our shared exhibit space with a semi-sanctioned parade connecting the sing-along stage at the Cornish Courtyard with the Center Theatre, where you can still see our installation, THE RAISED FIST. Thank you @nwfolklife for accommodating a little bit of anarchy today. This was such a thrill! I loved seeing the wide smiles on your staffers’ faces, despite our making their lives a little more complicated for 20 or so minutes 🌹 … Continue reading “An Anti-Fascist Sing-Along at Folklife” →
First day of Folklife. These are the sleepy hours. x Make sure you pass by the Center Theatre at the Armory this weekend to check out THE RAISED FIST, a project brought together by Seattle @demsocialists’ Arts & Culture team. The project also features artwork by middle schoolers from West Side School, taught by @christine.bingham.art. In the same space, you’ll find an exhibit on “Palestine at Folklife,” organized by the @marchforpalestine.seattle Community Archive Project. Swipe to the end to see my contribution to that project. I love how all these collectives blend together in this space. x First day of … Continue reading “First Day of Folklife: The Raised Fist” →
I just finished reading Calvino’s Invisible Cities, that postmodern novel I’ve seen cited and quoted and gestured at for decades in the books about human geography and urban politics I tend to reach for first, and it was only near the very end that I felt a strong resemblance between one of his imagined destinations and Seattle: “Also in Raissa, city of sadness, there runs an invisible thread that binds one living being to another for a moment, then unravels, then is stretched again between moving points as it draws new and rapid patterns so that at every second the … Continue reading “Invisible Cities, and Building the Raised Fist” →
A cutout protestor with raised fist from our collage party. x There’s a very pretty church right next to the Queen Anne Library. x Flip side of the cutout protestor with raised fist from our collage party. All in fair use. x
“Are you from here or just visiting?” “I’m from here, but I’m rarely in Queen Anne.” “Well, now you know where we are.” x Seattle @demsocialists hosted a collage party yesterday as part of the final prep work for an installation on the history of the raised fist that will be shown at @nwfolklife. This project is based on research by labor historian and @seattledsa member Daniel Ammons. The main pieces are designed and fabricated by Parker Wrenn, while the installation as a whole will also feature contributions by @christine.bingham.art’s middle school students, as well as a set of very … Continue reading “Collage Party: Prepping the Raised Fist for Folklife” →
I was invited to my very first Iftar last night, which just happened to be in the same space where these beautiful icons to the martyrs of and for Palestine were on display; faces we grew up with and names we’ve tearfully gotten to know too well. Four panels of eight; four panels symbolizing the “too many” taken too cruelly and too soon. I’d reached out to the artists before realizing that I’d end up at this Iftar and see them for myself. A romantic would call it “qadar.” x I’d reached out to @dianafakhoury and @bradytheblack to invite them … Continue reading “My First Iftar, Among Icons of Palestine’s Martyrs” →